Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Psychology > 1. Learning > Flashcards

1. Learning Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Psychology 101 flashcards GRE® Psychology flashcards AP® Psychology flashcards
1
Q

What is learning?

A

A process by which experience produces a relatively enduring change in an organism’s behaviour or capabilities

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Learning can be ‘overt’ or ‘covert’, what do these words mean?

A
  • Overt - behavioural

* Covert - cognitive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is non-associative learning?

A

Response to repeated stimuli (all animals do this)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is classical conditioning?

A

Learning the association between the events and what they signal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is operant conditioning?

A

Leaning that doing one thing leads to another (consequences of behaviours)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is observational learning?

A

Learning from others (or by noting consequences of a person’s actions)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is habituation?

A

Decrease in the strength of a response to repeated stimulus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is sensitisation?

A

Increase in the strength of response to a repeated stimulus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?

A

A stimulus that elicits a reflexive or innate response (UCR) without prior learning

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is a conditioned stimulus (CS)?

A

A stimulus that, through association with a UCS, comes to elicit a conditioned response similar to the original UCR

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Outline what Pavlov’s dogs showed?

A

Example of conditioning a stimulus

  • The CS (bell) didn’t lead to any response
  • The UCS (food) resulted in a innate response
  • Over time, if the bell is paired with the food enough times, the dog will salivate just from hearing the bell
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

When is classical conditioning strongest?

A
  • Repeated CS-UCS pairings
  • The UCS is more intense
  • Sequence involves forward paring (CS => UCS or bell => food)
  • Short time interval between CS and UCS
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What happens if a response is conditioned for a CS with a UCS, but the UCS is then removed?

A
  • The CR starts to become reduced i.e. if the bell is presented without the food, the strength of the response (CR - implied salivation) is lower
  • Response is not fully extinguished - will reactivate more readily than originally
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is stimulus generalisation?

A
  • Tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar, but not identical, to a conditioned stimulus
  • Similar stimuli also elicit the CR, but in a weaker form
  • Exploited in advertising and branding
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is stimulus discrimination?

A
  • Ability to respond differently to various stimuli
  • e.g. child will respond differently to various bells, or a fear of a certain breed of dogs
  • Using models and celebrities in advertising exploits this concept
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What type of conditioning may explain anticipatory nausea and vomiting to chemotherapy?

A
  • Classical conditioning
  • Expectation (norm): Chemotherapy (UCS) => Nausea (UCR)
  • Result: sight of chemotherapy unit (CS) => anticipatory nausea (CR)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What physiological effect does anticipation to chemotherapy have and how was this tested?

A
  • Samples of patients taken at home and hospital prior to chemotherapy
  • Patients had their NK cell activity measured
  • Chemotherapy normally suppresses the immune system
  • Classical conditioning caused an anticipatory immune decline at the hospital before chemotherapy
18
Q

How was ‘overshadowing’ demonstrated in changing the effect of anticipatory nausea to chemotherapy?

A
  • Cancer patients experiencing anticipatory nausea were divided into 2 groups
  • G1 was given an unpleasant, novel drink
  • G2 was given water, not novel
  • Patients with the ‘novel drink’ showed reduced anticipatory nausea when coming to the clinic setting
  • This altered CS is an example of overshadowing
19
Q

Show how a rat (neutral stimulus) and a loud noise (UCS) can be conditioned for the rat to evoke crying

A

Before conditioning
• Rat (neutral) => no response
• Loud noise (US) => crying (UR)

During conditioning
• Rat (neutral) + loud noise (US) => crying (UR)

After conditioning
• Rat (CS) => crying (CR)

20
Q

Show how a traumatic injection can lead to a fear of the clinical setting?

A
  • Trauma (UCS) => Fear (UCR)
  • Trauma (UCS) + Needle (neutral) => Fear (UCR)
  • Needle (CS) => Fear (CR)
  • Clinical setting (CS) => Fear (CR)
21
Q

Use the fear of needles to show what the ‘two-factor theory of maintenance of classically conditioned associations’ is?

A
  • By avoiding injections, you remove the aversive stimulus and the response of fear
  • Negative reinforcement/operant conditioning - response strengthened by avoiding an aversive stimulus
  • Stimulus of needle has been removed => tendency to avoid it increases
22
Q

What is Thorndike’s Law of Effect?

A
  • A response followed by a satisfying consequence will be more likely to occur
  • A response followed by an aversive consequence will become less likely to occur
23
Q

What is positive reinforcement?

A

Response is strengthened by the subsequent presentation of a reinforcer e.g. teaching dogs tricks using food

24
Q

What are primary and secondary reinforcers?

A
  • Primary - those needed for survival e.g. food, water, sleep
  • Secondary - stimuli that acquire reinforcing properties through their association with primary reinforcers e.g. money, praise
25
Q

What is negative reinforcement?

A

Response is strengthened by the removal/avoidance of a an aversive stimulus e.g. the use of painkillers are reinforced by avoiding pain, or drying hands to avoid wet hands

26
Q

What is positive punishment?

A
  • Response is weakened by the presentation of a stimulus

* e.g. squirting a cat with water when it jumps on the table

27
Q

What is negative punishment?

A
  • Response is weakened by the removal of a stimulus

* e.g. phone confiscated

28
Q

Does reinforcement or punishment have a more potent influence on behaviour?

A
  • Reinforcement i.e. increasing response by presenting/avoiding stimulus
  • Largely becomes punishment can only make certain response less frequent - you can’t teach new behaviour
29
Q

What is resistance to extinction?

A

The degree to which non-reinforced responses persist

30
Q

Does continuous or partial reinforcement produce more rapid learning?

A

Continuous reinforcement

31
Q

Does continuous or partial reinforcement extinguish more rapidly?

A

Continuous reinforcement

32
Q

What is a fixed interval schedule?

A

Reinforcement occurs after a fixed time interval

33
Q

What is a variable interval schedule?

A

Reinforcement occurs after a time interval, which varies at random around an average

34
Q

What if a fixed ratio schedule?

A

Reinforcement is given after a fixed number of responses

35
Q

What is a variable ration schedule?

A

Reinforcement is given after a variable number of responses, all centred around an average

36
Q

How can we inadvertently delay patients’ recovery by how we respond to pain behaviour?

A
  • Chronic pain behaviour includes limping, grimacing etc.
  • This is often reinforced by family or staff e.g. being overly sympathetic, encouraging rest etc.
  • Also reinforced by gratitude signals from the patient
  • Cycle in which patient receives positive consequences for being in pain
37
Q

What does the cognitive approach to learning suggest about the effect of social imitation?

A

Social imitation may short-cut the acquisition of new behaviours without the necessity of reinforcing

38
Q

What is vicarious reinforcement?

A

We tend to imitate behaviours, that are being reinforced

39
Q

Outline the Bobo Doll experiment

A
  • Children recruited
  • Spent time in a playroom with an adult who modelled either non-aggressive (building toy) or aggressive play (punching the Bobo doll)
  • Groups then spent a further 20 minutes alone
  • Children who observed aggressive behaviour showed a much higher level of aggression towards to doll
40
Q

What kind of people are we more likely to imitate the behaviour of?

A 
If the model is:
• Seen to be rewarded
• High status
• Similar to us (e.g. colleagues)
• Friendly
41
Q

What are expert patients?

A
  • A patient who talks about their experience to a group of newly diagnosed patients
  • Selected for successfully managing their condition
  • Role-model

Psychology (14 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions